Anti-Queer, Anti-Trans Bus of Paid Protesters Attacked in NYC

A bus staffed by paid protesters apart of several non-profits including the National Organization for Marriage, International Organization for the Family, and Citizen Go – all anti-queer and anti-trans groups, was righteously attacked today with a baseball bat, keyed, vandalized with “Trans Liberation” graffiti, and in general, laughed out of town for being the disgusting bigots that they are.

The aforementioned non-profits have all joined together to launch the #FreeSpeechBus project, which is currently touring various US cities, holding rallies and press conferences. Such messaging builds on the stupidity of online Alt-Right trolls who use liberal buzzwords to promote oppressive politics. The move marks a turning point for anti-queer non-profits, away from trying to get money countering gay marriage, and instead focusing on attacking trans people. This is evidenced by the bus’s main message being that “boys are boys” and “girls are girls…and always will be;” arguing it’s “biology not bigotry.” Such a line has been used to justify a wide variety of disgusting laws, regulations, and excuses for apartheid and oppression since human beings sadly began to listen to people that look like this:

Brian Brown, perhaps most infamous for his tendency to equate the LGBTQ community to pedophiles, is the current president of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and a hard-line member of the Christian Right. A Quaker turned Roman Catholic, Brown has been a key player in the anti-equality movement for over two decades—even moving his family to California in 2008 for the sole purpose of defending the now-repealed Proposition 8 ballot initiative. Brown’s most recent anti-LGBTQ crusades have involved the exportation of homophobia to Russia and, on a domestic level, supporting the anti-transgender movement in public schools.

Another big group with international ties pushing the #FreeSpeechBus is CitizenGo, which was founded in Madrid, Spain in 2013. The foundation supports petitions in a variety of countries opposing same-sex marriage, abortion, and euthanasia. As Political Research Associates wrote:

The International Organization for the Family is sort of a mega-group, bringing together anti-abortion, anti-trans, and anti-queer groups across the world. As Buzzfeed wrote:

The group’s manifesto, called the “Cape Town Declaration”, pledges to defend the institution of marriage from same-sex couples, bringing together groups and leaders from more than 20 countries.

The group is effectively a reboot of the World Congress of Families, a 21-year-old federation of socially conservative organisations from around the globe. Although the group’s international summits drew attendees from dozens of countries, it was a loosely organised network of anti-abortion and anti-LGBT activists rather than a focused advocacy organisation.

Brian Brown of the United States’s National Organization for Marriage took over the group earlier this year. Rebranding as the International Organization for the Family appears to be part of positioning the group as a more muscular advocacy group targeting marriage equality. This seems to be the culmination of years of talks to form an international group modelled on Brown’s work against marriage equality in the US and similar campaigns in other countries.

While such Dominionist organizations are disgusting – they are also a big ass business. Such groups bring in millions of dollars in donations from working-class people, and in turn use that money to influence far-Right politicians and fight for laws that attack various communities.

The good news is that the tour is coming to a city near you. According to the CitizenGo website, the tour will feature protests and press conferences. Check their website for more details and keep an eye out. Here is the schedule:

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It's Going Down is a digital community center from anarchist, anti-fascist, autonomous anti-capitalist and anti-colonial movements. Our mission is to provide a resilient platform to publicize and promote revolutionary theory and action.